Page 15 - Black Velvet Magazine Issue 107

BV107 pg14-17 Classless Act Interview.qxp_BV107 pg 15 17/12/2022 17:41 Page 2

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ormed only three years ago, the L.A.-based Classless Act are one of the most impressive bands
F we’ve heard in a long while. The five-piece consisting of Derek Day (vocals), Dane Pieper (guitar),
Griffin Ticker (guitar), Franco Gravante (bass) and Chuck McKissock (drums) already show they don’t
just have what it takes to ‘make it’ on paper, but, armed with their debut album ‘Welcome To The Show’,
they are also proving they have what it takes where it matters the most: on record and on stage. And, de-
spite what their name suggests, this quintet has plenty of class (and magic) to share.
oining us from his home in L.A. is front- We ask the frontman whether he considers goes wrong technically, they fix it like that,” he
Jman Derek Day and, from the minute he this to be the band’s time and how difficult he says, clicking his fingers, “but they have the
sits down with Black Velvet, his character is has found waiting for the opportunity to come, coolest phase and they are really polite.
clear to see. Grinning from ear to ear and obvi- especially given the turbulence the world has “So, what I learned, even more so, is just be
ously loving life right now, he is a ball of excite- endured since the group’s formation. nice, be kind, be patient and then, that way,
ment, eager to talk about and share the word of “Yes, absolutely”, he responds. “It is our whatever problems arise, you’ll work through it.
the work he and his somewhat unlikely band- time. A lot of the songs on the album point to It seems all these bands are that way. Motley
mates have created. that actually. We’re here to make a statement. Crue has been a band for what, 41 years and
It’s somewhat unlikely because, in contrast We’re here to say something. We have things to they have learned to be respectful to each other,
to so many established bands of today, the five say. We’re not just a party band and it was super to the people they work with.
faces who collectively form Classless Act have hard waiting. “I’d already learned this a few tours ago, but
not come together through any kind of lifelong “We were sitting on half of the album for you don’t expect to see it in something of this
friendships; in fact their relationships are still about a year and we wrote the other half during calibre, so I’m learning it again in a new light. It’s
somewhat new. In what is becoming a sign of the pandemic and man, yeah, I’ve been per- just like, be respectful, be kind and that’s it!”
the times, much like how so many personal re- forming in L.A. for a long time and not really get- We ask Derek if he thinks these are quali-
lationships are born in this generation, Derek ting anywhere. I’ve been in many bands, all the ties which the world, beyond rock music, is more
met guitarists Griffin Tucker and Dane Pieper, band is the same, they’ve been performing for in need of at the moment. “Absolutely, ab-
bassist Franco Gravante and drummer Chuck many years and just couldn’t get out, but now solutely”, he responds.
McKissock via social media. we’ve found each other. We’ve found the perfect “And I live in L.A. and that’s a whole world
But so much else about Classless Act is five to create the mega-zorb to defeat the space in itself, and you don’t see much of it there, so
unique, then why not how they came to be in the aliens! We’re finally here and it’s our time!” yeah, absolutely. I think the minute you start
first place? As we comment in the review of their treating people with respect and kindness, you
debut album elsewhere in this edition, it’s hard t's brilliantly timed that Derek mentions see that problems start to get fixed and things
to be unique in rock music in 2022. Hell, it’s hard IClassless Act not being just a party band start to shift in the right way.”
to be unique in anything in 2022, but Classless and being one with something to say. It’s some-
Act have managed it. While you can hear hints thing which could easily be overlooked when ith a song on the album called ‘This Is
and inspirations from many of your favourite you first listen to ‘Welcome To The Show’. On WFor You’, (featuring Justin Hawkins of
bands in their music, it still doesn’t quite sound the surface their music screams good-time party The Darkness) we ask Derek to tell us who their
like anything else and that in itself is quite an band, here purely to entertain, but, when you dig record is for.
achievement. a little deeper and analyse their words a little It’s a question which requires the singer to
And, not only does the band have this going closer, you realise there is so much more to their take a pause. “This album is, like, for the entire
for them, but they have other significant things songs. It’s a significant key to what makes them world, I think! We’ve all recorded songs for our-
in their favour already. Debut album ‘Welcome so good and lifts their tracks to a higher plat- selves and we’ve put songs in there that are for
To The Show’ is quite brilliant and they’ve had form. ourselves, but the whole album itself, I want to
one of the biggest stages on offer this year to Derek tells us what you’re likely to find if you go beyond that, I want to say this is for the Milky
showcase it, opening on the U.S. Def Leppard delve into the songs. “Personally, I get very po- Way Galaxy! And, in particular, Sagittarius A, the
and Motley Crue stadium tour and, on top of litical - which is weird, because I never thought black hole in the centre of the Milky Way Galaxy.
that, their debut album has a few impressive I would be like that. I don’t try to, it just writes That particular black hole!”
guest stars in the shape of Vince Neil and Justin out that way. I love bands like Rage Against The While he is clearly having fun with the ques-
Hawkins (from Motley Crue and The Darkness Machine and stuff like that, so that kind of thing tion, it’s also undeniable that there is an air of
just in case you’d not heard of them). What does have a way of sneaking in there. But we seriousness about his answer which underlines
more could they ask for? also like writing about our deepest, darkest their ambition to conquer the galaxy, but still with
Time to find out. hours. Songs like ‘Circles’ and ‘Haunting Love’ a smile on their face and remaining humble as
are songs about our lives and our torment and they do so.
nd what better place to start than with how we, for example, go through a breakup; we “We just want it to be the biggest thing in the
Athe album’s opening track, the self-titled literally write that down. ‘Walking Contradiction’ world. It’s our biggest accomplishment and we
‘Classless Act’, which features the intriguing is a song about a specific relationship. ‘Made In are just so proud of it and it’s the coolest sound-
opening lyric, ‘Classless? Are you calling me Hell’ is a personal, family song; it’s about some- ing thing we’ve ever made!” He continues, but
classless? Well, it's about time’, and so we thing that was going on in my family.” with a slight shift of seriousness in his voice,
begin by asking Derek for his thoughts on “We get super duper personal and we actu- “But, in the album, there are little titbits for our-
whether they are indeed class or classless and ally recorded 60 demos and the ones we picked selves, I wrote a song for a family member in
how they hope they are seen by their peers and for the album were the most truest and honest there, but, overall, it’s for everyone.”
fans, both now and in the future. subjects. No matter what it is, we write about life Classless Act, the band, is for themselves,
He immediately labels it as an interesting in all forms; politically, socially, introspectively, but also for everyone else as well.
one before telling us, “I think in order to work in but no matter what it is, we try to get across hon- “The band is for…I’d like to say for us, but
this industry you’ve got to have some class and esty. We want to be 100% honest and, when we at the same time I want to say we are for the
be somewhat polite and cool, but I think our na- write something where we’re pretending, we’ll people,” says Derek. “I feel like Classless Act
ture in the band and in this song, what we are know, we’ll smell it and we’ll throw that away!” happened out of necessity. That was how the
trying to represent is that you can’t stop certain band formed.
aspects of human nature. he song ‘Classless Act’ is one of the “I was doing my own thing and was in three
“That song is inspired by a certain politician Ttracks to boast one of the aforemen- different bands and then I joined this one.
who, at the time, was being called a classless tioned star cameos, as this is the song which Franko was actually on tour with a band when
act. And I found that funny that one of the higher, features Vince Neil as a special guest. Derek he joined this one and everyone was doing their
most respected, classes of people in charge of tells us what he’s learned from musicians such own thing. Griffin was in Dallas making a living
running the world is being called that and a lot as Vince. performing in four different bands, but then this
of sportsmen are called classless acts when “One thing we learned was how profes- happened. And it had to happen because we
they celebrate and stuff, but everyone is a class- sional people are at the highest level. I mean, just felt there was something there. It’s not like
less act at times. And so we do want the world they are so professional and so polite. All the we are saying we are the answer to anything,
to think we can be classless; we’re like ‘uurrrgh’ bands, their crew and everyone, works so hard but I think we were all feeling that something
and ‘blurrghh’, but only because of nature.” and, when there is a mistake or when something was missing.
CLASSLESS ACT